Mr. Kidswatter
'''Mr. Kidswatter' is a character in the Wayside School books and cartoon. He is the principal of Wayside School. Appearance Books In the books, Mr. Kidswatter is described as having a green suit in "A Bad Word," and in "Eric, Eric, and Eric," he is shown to wear mirrored sunglasses that obscure his eyes. Otherwise, little about his appearance is known. Cartoon In the cartoon, Mr. Kidswatter is portrayed as an overweight, middle-aged balding man with dark skin and light lavender hair. He has a mustache, but in contrast to his book counterpart, does not wear mirroed sunglasses. He wears an olive green coat with a few forest green patches on the shoulders, with a yellow-green vest with three buttons under that, and a cream-colored shirt under that. He wears a red-violet necktie and dark green pants. He wears black shoes. Personality Books In the books, Mr. Kidswatter takes the position of the quick-to-anger principal of Wayside School. His first major appearance in "Eric, Eric, and Eric" demonstrates this. In this chapter, Mr. Kidswatter discovers a mean note written by Eric Bacon, though it is only addressed as "Eric." He interviews all three Erics, questioning them with vast frustration, as seen through his tone of voice and body language. At one point, he attempts to throw a stapler at Eric Ovens to see if he's left or right-handed, and Eric Ovens manages to catch it with his right hand. Mr. Kidswatter oftentimes lets his anger get the best of him, causing him to make impulsive or irrational decisions, such as banning the word "Door" after walking into one by mistake and spilling coffee on his suit in "A Bad Word." As his name not-so-subtly implies, Mr. Kidswatter hates the students of Wayside School, and frustratedly referring to them as "snot-nosed" in "A Message from the Principal," and usually ignoring their concerns. Mr. Kidswatter appears to show intense focus when something is particularly bothering him, as he even notices the handwriting on the card in "Eric, Eric, and Eric" is written by a left-handed person. However, when not focusing, he often has oversights in his plans, such as having it so everyone going upstairs stays to the right and everyone going downstairs stays to their left to avoid people bumping into each other, or building elevators that only go up and down respectively. ("Elevators") Mr. Kidswatter appears to want more attention, as in "Flowers for a Very Special Person," he is excited to get flowers from Louis, remarking he doesn't have many friends. Mr. Kidswatter is presumed to be unpleasant to be around, as Louis proceeds to refer to him as a "maggot-infested string bean." Cartoon Relationships Books Students As can be inferred from his name, Mr. Kidswatter does not hold a positive opinion towards the students of Wayside School. In "Eric, Eric, and Eric," he gets particularly upset towards the Three Erics, after reading a mean note written by Eric Bacon. He starts questioning them about the note, and at one point, throws a stapler at Eric Ovens. In "A Message from the Principal," he states over the intercom that he is frustrated with having to deal with the students, and hopes none of them bother him. Some students appear to fear Mr. Kidswatter, as seen with Eric Fry and Eric Ovens, who dread entering his office in "Eric, Eric, and Eric." Other students do not seem to take him very seriously, such as Eric Bacon, who tells him a series of thinly-veiled lies to keep out of trouble, and Stephen, who steals his coffeepot in "A Light Bulb, a Pencil Sharpener, a Coffeepot, and a Sack of Potatoes." Only Sharie is seen to possibly look up to Mr. Kidswatter in the books, as in"The Little Stranger" she is seen constructing a rubber band ball like his own. Louis While Mr. Kidswatter is rarely seen interacting with Louis, Mr. Kidswatter does seem to hold a positive opinion towards him, feeling overjoyed when Louis hands him a bundle of flowers in "Flowers for a Very Special Person." He proceeds to tell Louis that he doesn't have many friends, and always thought of him like a son, but Louis does not return the favor, calling him a "maggot-infested string bean" under his breath. Mrs. Day Mrs. Day is Mr. Kidswatter's secretary, and although a minor character, appears to be a level-headed foil in comparison. When Mr. Kidswatter walks right into a door in "A Bad Word," Mrs. Day questions why he didn't open it. It appears as though Mr. Kidswatter doesn't notice Mrs. Day very much, as he refers to her as "Miss Night," but Mrs. Day never corrects him. Cartoon Appearances For a list of every chapter and episode Mr. Kidswatter is seen in, see here. Trivia *In "Louis Gets Some Class," it's confirmed that Mr. Kidswatter never graduated. Category:Characters Category:Adults Category:Males Category:Teachers Category:Introduced in Wayside School is Falling Down Category:Alive characters